David A. Riley's Blog, page 15
March 7, 2024
Day Twenty-Nine of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 1
Day twenty-nine of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's the turn of our most popular book so far: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 1. Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy is intended to be the first in a series of swords and sorcery anthologies.
The contents of Volume One are:
INTRODUCTION - David A. Riley
THE MIRROR OF TORJAN SUL - Steve Lines
THE HORROR FROM THE STARS - Steve Dilks
TROLLS ARE DIFFERENT - Susan Murrie Macdonald
CHAIN OF COMMAND - Geoff Hart
DISRUPTION OF DESTINY - Gerri Leen
THE CITY OF SILENCE - Eric Ian Steele
RED - Chadwick Ginther
THE RECONSTRUCTED GOD - Adrian Cole
The cover and all the interior artwork is by Jim Pitts. amazon.co.uk
March 6, 2024
Day Twenty-Eight of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley
Day twenty-eight of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley, illustrated by Jim Pitts.
After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales by David A. Riley, illustrated by Jim Pitts contains the following stories:
Three Eyed Jack
The Fragile Mask on his Face
Terror on the Moors
The Shade of Apollyon
Writer's Cramp
Fish Eye
Boat Trip
Prickly
After Nightfall
Here are just a couple of the over 20 illustrations, most of which are full page.
The paperback version and kindle are available through amazon, the paperback can be ordered direct from us: The hardcover version of this book is now out of print.
March 5, 2024
Day Twenty-Seven of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: The Ever More Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts
For day twenty-seven of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications it's the second volume of art by Jim Pitts, appropriately titled The Ever More Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts, which is available to order either direct from us or via various online outlets like amazon as a hardcover or large-sized paperback.
Since we brought out The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts in 2017 Jim has been constantly busy, including interior artwork for Elak: King of Atlantis and After Nightfall & Other Weird Tales, covers for Phantasmagoria magazine, and a host of other projects, with new techniques and fresh designs.
The Ever More Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts is a fitting sequel to the first volume, published in hardcover and packed with black and white and full-colour illustrations.
These are just a few of the pages from this book:
All copies ordered direct from PUP will be signed by Jim Pitts and include some great extras.To order direct from PUP click on this link
Amazon.com $30.04
March 4, 2024
Day Twenty-Six of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts
Day twenty-six of showcasing books by Parallel Universe Publications brings us to our most ambitious project yet: The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts. Celebrating over 40 years of work in the fantasy/horror genres, The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts is a large-size 212-page hardcover book containing hundreds of black and white and colour illustrations created by one of the finest fantasy artists in the UK. Included are articles by people who have worked with and known Jim for many years: Brian Lumley, David A. Sutton, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Jones, Jon M. Harvey, Peter Coleborn, Nick Caffrey, and David A. Riley. The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts is a numbered, limited edition of 250 copies, each of which is signed by Jim Pitts. As such it is only available direct from us. It cannot be ordered from Amazon or anywhere else.
To order the hardcover version of The Fantastical Art of Jim Pitts click onto this link.
To order the softcover versions direct from us click onto this link.
Also available in soft cover in two volumes:
Volume 1 AmazonVolume 2 Amazon
Volume 1 Amazon
Volume 2 Amazon
March 3, 2024
Day Twenty-Five of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Christmas in the Workhouse & Other Gruesome Tales by Craig Herbertson
For day twenty-five of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications it's Craig Herbertson's Christmas in the Workshouse & Other Gruesome Tales.
This is the second collection of stories written by Craig Herbertson to be published by Parallel Universe Publications. A musician and songwriter, Craig lives in Edinburgh with his partner and children. Craig is one of the original authors included in the infamous Pan Book of Horror Stories series. Two of his stories received honourable mentions in Ellen Datlow's renowned lists - The Best Horror of the Year. When not writing Craig is playing folk music, mostly Scottish, or watching football.Some of the stories in this collection show the influence of some of his favourite writers, including Philip K. Dick and J. G. Ballard. An ideal present for Christmas for anyone who loves well-written, dark, sardonically macabre stories, complete with several spot illustrations by Chrissie Demant and one illustration by Craig himself. Published in hardcover (now OOP) with an illustrated dustjacket, this is one of the best collections we have ever published. It is still available as a paperback and kindle eBook.
To order the softcover direct from us click on this link.
Amazon.comMarch 2, 2024
Day Twenty-Four of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter
Day twenty-four of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications and it's The Crabian Heart by Erik Hofstatter.
The Crabian Heart: A Synopsis
Irena and her thirteen-year-old son Aleš are refugees living in a lonely seaside town of Dover, England. Aleš has never seen an ocean, let alone one that glows purple when he’s nearby. On a local beach, he befriends the ostensible Mother of Crabs, an amputee with rigid demeanour and unequivocal warnings. Soon, purple crustaceans crawl behind his every step and women with pincers threaten to recondition his sensitive heart.
Erik Hofstatter is a dark fiction writer and a member of the Horror Writers Association. Born in the wild lands of the Czech Republic, he roamed Europe before subsequently settling on English shores, studying creative writing at the London School of Journalism. He now dwells in Kent, where he can be encountered consuming copious amounts of mead and tyrannizing local peasantry. His work appeared in various magazines and podcasts around the world such as Morpheus Tales, Crystal Lake Publishing, The Literary Hatchet, Sanitarium Magazine, Wicked Library, Tales to Terrify and Manor House Show. Other works include The Pariahs, Amaranthine and Other Stories, Katerina, Moribund Tales and Rare Breeds.
Starburst magazine by Jon Towlson.
"...the emotional tug that The Crabian Heart exerts on the reader is palpable. The Crabian Heart is also a coming-of-age tale, one that resonates with the pangs of unrequited love. And as such, it concludes, like all great coming-of-age stories, with a very difficult and painful realisation for the love-struck main character. By the end of its 100 pages you will find yourself both haunted and moved by Hofstatter’s evocative writing."
hellnotes
"I like this little collection a lot. Definitely a case of bigger not always being better. Hofstatter could have watered this down with more words, but that would have taken the impact out of the stories. I also like how he slips a lot of important messages into his work. For example “people are scared of what they don’t know…or understand,” says Enola, as she and Ales walk along the beach. Zsofia tells him that life is a gamble and his mother points out that the powers that be make the rules that govern us and we have to go where they tell us to. Ultimately, the decisions of what we do are ours, but I’d like to suggest that you try a copy of The Crabian Heart. That forward is going to be the icing on the cake!"
Hardback, paperback & kindle:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
You can order the hardcover version direct from us on this link, post free.
You can order the softcover version direct from us on this link, post free.
March 1, 2024
Day Twenty-Three of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Parlour Tricks by Carl Barker
For the start of a new month and day twenty-three of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications we have Carl Barker's collection of short stories: Parlour Tricks. The cover illustration is the work of talented artist Luke Spooner.
Devil worshippers stalk the ageing boards of Blackpool Pier, a scrap-yard automaton devours the souls of lost children, and a murderous priest hunts an ancient she-demon through the streets of New York.A selection of horror stories to chill the blood, featuring revenant felines, garbage-eating clairvoyants, flesh-eating magpies and a severed head with murder in mind. Unexploded Girlfriends (c) 2010 was first published in Dark Horizons, Issue 57, BFS Journal, Winter 2010.From Chatterton Hill (c) 2011 was first published in Estronomicon, October 2011.Old Loves Die Hard (c) 2012 was first published in Title Goes Here, Issue 12, July 2012.Eater of Lost Causes (c) 2011 was first published in Full Fathom Forty, BFS, October 2011.With The Band (c) 2013 was first published in Niteblade, Issue #25, September 2013.Fish Out of Water (c) 2011 was first published in Midnight Movie Creature Feature, May December Publications, October 2011.Kicks (c) 2013 was first published in Miseria's Chorale, Forgotten Tomb Press, November 2013.Why the Wild Things Are (c) 2010 was first published in Zombie Zoology, Severed Press, May 2010.The Man Who Came to Dinner (c) 2009 was first published in Midnight Street, Issue #12, April 2009.Things Lost in Fire (c) 2011 was first published in Dark Gothic Resurrected, October 2011.Junkyard Dog, The Certainty of Chance, The Cabinet of Ed Monroe, and Lemming Revolution (c) 2016 are all original to this collection.
Paperback & kindle:amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
February 29, 2024
Great review of my story An Oddity which was in Shlock! Webzine
Very pleased to see some kind comments about my story An Oddity, which appeared in Schlock! Webzine recently.
Day Twenty-Two of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Nightscape by Eric Ian Steele
Eric Ian Steele is a novelist and screenwriter from Manchester, England. He is the writer of the horrornovel The Autumn Man, as well as the thriller feature film TheStudent (2017) and the action/sci-fi feature film Clone Hunter(2010). He won the prestigious Writers on the Storm screenwriting contest in 2012and has had short films produced across the USA. He has also written for hireon a children’s sci-fi animated TV series. His short stories range fromscience-fiction to horror and fantasy and can be found in numerous anthologiesand magazines including Terror Tales alongside fiction by Neil Gaimanand Kim Newman, The Lovecraft E-Zine, Horror Without Victims, thesuperhero fiction anthology POW!erful Tales, and the zombie poetrycollection Vicious Verses and Reanimated Rhymes! Some of his most recent films are the present day vampire thriller set in Manchester Boy #5 (available on amazon prime), Day of the Clones and 1942.
Nightscape includes eleven tales:
Charlie - first published in Terror Tales #4, edityed by John B. Ford and Paul Kane
The Musical Box - first published in Chaos Theory: Tales Askew #13, edited by A. A. Roberts
The Groaner in the Glen - first published in The Lovecraft eZine #29, edited by Mike Davis
City of the Damned - first published in In Bad Dreams II
Black Annis - first published in The Willows #1, edited by Ben Thomas
After the Fall - first published in Chaos Theory: Tales Askew #3, edited by A. A. Roberts
Moths - first published in Scifantastic
Cycle - first published in Terminal Earth
A Dahlia Among the Roses, Ars Armortia, and Indian Summer are original to this collection.
amazon.co.uk £20.00amazon.comFebruary 28, 2024
Day Twenty-One of Showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications: Benjamin Blake's Standing on the Threshold of Madness
For day twenty-one of showcasing books published by Parallel Universe Publications it's the turn of the only book of poetry so far published by PUP, Benjamin Blake's Standing on the Threshold of Madness.
Respected Lovecraftian scholar S. T. Joshi had this to say about Benjamin Blake's collection, Standing on the Threshold of Madness:"I was most impressed with Standing on the Threshold of Madness. These dark, brooding vignettes do far more than send a shudder up one's spine (although they do that again and again, with elegance and panache). Benjamin Blake has found a way to infuse into his horrific lyrics a keen sensitivity to human emotions, an understanding of the fragility of life, and a bleak portrayal of the evanescence of all existence. This is a volume that aficionados of weird poetry will want to read over and over."
Other comments about Benjamin Blake and his poetry:“Benjamin Blake relishes funereal lyricismwith a spice of surrealism.” - Ramsey Campbell
“A plethora of dark and haunting poemsthat could be likened to a bone chilling symphony overall! Mood enhancinglanguage that will curdle the blood, and excellent, original imagery!” - MargeSimon, Bram Stoker Award winning poetBenjamin Blake was born in the July of 1985, and grew up in the small town of Eltham, New Zealand. He is the author of the poetry and prose collections A Prayer for Late October, Southpaw Nights, and Reciting Shakespeare with the Dead. His debut novel, The Devil's Children, was published in October of 2016. Find more of his work at www.benjaminblake.com
Paperback and kindle: You can order this book direct from us post free on this link.
amazon.co.uk amazon.com
